PIISA Industrial Park Represents 25% of Exports

THE NEW GENERAL CUSTOMS DIRECTORATE OPEN A NEW OFFICE AT PIISA

On August 9th, The General Director of Customs (DGA), Enrique Ramírez Paniagua, stated that in the first half of this year total exports from free zones showed an increase of 3% compared to the first half of last year, reaching US$2.565 billion.

During the ceremony inaugurating the new DGA office in the installations of PIISA Industrial Park, Ramírez Paniagua predicted that exports will reach US$6.000 billion this year.

Ramírez Paniagua indicated that the new office was built with an investment of approximately RD$5 million. According to him, the funds used for the construction of this new office was provided equally by the Park itself and by the PIISA Interim Committee, authorized by the National Committee of the Customs Services Agreement, signed by the DGA; the National Free Zone Council (CNZFE), and the Dominican Free Zones Association (ADOZONA).

The head of the DGA underscored the importance of opening an office in PIISA, as the companies operating there represent approximately 25% of total free zone exports, which in 20016 came to over US$1.250 billion. He stated that this initiative represents a major achievement for the Dominican customs sector, since this new infrastructure and its technological equipment ensure greater efficiency in the quality of the customs services they offer, as well as those originating in other points around the country.

“We believe that this is an important step that we must all join in on in order to become a trade facilitation entity,” Ramirez Paniagua said.

Through the tools recently offered by the General Customs Directorate (DGA), the free zones have experienced progress in customs processing, by: the optimization of dispatching in real time, since over 85% of imports by the companies in industrial parks complete customs processing during the first five working hours after presentation of the documentation.